


Lost in Translation

by Pollydoodles



Series: The Pizza Dog Chronicles [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 04:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5953888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pollydoodles/pseuds/Pollydoodles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“He’s not very well behaved, is he?” Steve huffed, angling the mop above his head towards the ceiling and wiping furiously. </p><p>“Well, he does belong to Barton.” Darcy pointed out without looking up at him from her position on the floor, kneeling amidst debris, dust pan and brush in hand. Steve paused, the jam inconceivably smeared on the ceiling remaining stubbornly red against the magnolia. He sighed. Pepper’s gonna kill me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost in Translation

“He’s not very well behaved, is he?” Steve huffed, angling the mop above his head towards the ceiling and wiping furiously. 

“Well, he does belong to Barton.” Darcy pointed out without looking up at him from her position on the floor, kneeling amidst debris, dust pan and brush in hand. Steve paused, the jam inconceivably smeared on the ceiling remaining stubbornly red against the magnolia. He sighed. Pepper’s gonna kill me. 

“Still.” He dropped the mop to the floor and hooked it under his armpit, leaning on it slightly as he looked down at Darcy, still sweeping. “He does seem to be particularly bad when Clint’s not around.”

She paused, leaned back and dragged a hand through unruly ragged curls. Serious blue eyes looked up at him before she responded. “He’s probably got substitute syndrome.”

Steve shrugged, unsure of the term. Darcy’s head tilted to one side as she considered him. “You know, like when your regular teacher is away and you get a temp instead?” Her head and, subsequently, curls bounced along with her as she nodded at him, trying to see if he was following. Steve nodded with her, and then sighed and shook his head. Darcy rolled her eyes at him.

“You kinda … Play up a bit. Test the waters. Push some boundaries.” She gestured with her hands in the air, eyes wide and innocent, and he couldn’t help but laugh heartily at the girl sitting on the floor amongst broken glass and splattered food. 

Darcy pretended to look offended, scrunched her mouth up and pulled a face at Steve. “Alright Captain Perfect, we weren’t all angels at school.” 

“You’re not exactly an angel now, Darcy.” He said pointedly, and she threw her hands up in response. 

“It’s a fair cop.” She winked and scrambled to her feet to stand beside him. Steve looked down at the petite brunette whose head just reached his shoulder. He glanced up at the jam on the ceiling again with a calculating look. Tony’s gotta have something in the lab for stains. 

“Darce... He raided the fridge.”

“Yeah, well. Bucky helped.” That, Steve could not deny. 

“He just doesn’t seem to listen.” Steve replied, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. 

“The dog? Or Bucky?” Darcy stuck her tongue at him and he gave her a – gentle – shove in retaliation. 

“He responds to Bucky though.” She unfolded her arms and leaned against him, running a hand through her hair as she looked over to the couch. Bucky was sat cross-legged on the floor, backed up against the couch. The dog sat in his lap, leaning into Bucky lovingly as the man brushed him vigorously. Spots of peanut butter mixed with yoghurt flecked his coat and his wet nose was splattered with it; though Lucky was doing his best to lick it off in record time. 

“Which is great.” Steve agreed, turning to watch his friend as well. “Except that Bucky also has no concept of rules.”

“Well I guess you gotta train him better then, Cap.” Darcy grinned and earned herself another shove. Laughing she scooped up a wet dishcloth from the sink and threw it haphazardly at his face. Steve deflected the cloth easily but suddenly there was a jumping barking dog in the way as well. 

Steve laughed and tried to push Lucky down which excited the dog even more. Tail wagging furiously, he bounced up and down in front of Steve, trying desperately to lick his face. Bucky’s efforts at cleaning the dog hadn’t gotten very far, so clumps of yoghurt-covered fluff flew all-ways about the kitchen area as Steve valiantly attempted to fight Lucky off without hurting him. 

The blond stepped back, laughing still, and stepped on the dustpan that Darcy had left on the floor. With a surprised grunt he was over and Lucky was on top of him, licking every bit of skin on show that he could get at. Darcy doubled over with laughter herself, tears running down her face at the thought of Captain America felled by man’s best friend.

“Why are you on the floor, Steve?” 

Bucky’s confused words made Darcy laugh even harder and Steve reach out a hand around a wriggling Lucky to grasp his friend’s ankle and bring the dark-haired man also to the tiles. Bucky went down gracelessly and the dog went crazy trying to cover both men at the same time. Somewhere in the midst of the struggle Darcy located the dishcloth and covertly flung it at Steve’s face. 

“Hey-“ Steve shoved Lucky to one side. “Why are you still standing? You’re not escaping this.”

“No, no, this is a male-bonding ritual, Rogers, nothing to do with-“

“Get her, Buck.”

Obediently Bucky sat up and wrapped his metal arm around the backs of Darcy’s knees and pulled her down. Thankfully he had the sense to put his body between her and the tiles seeing as he’d brought her down face first but Bucky’s solid chest was only a small reprieve before a wet nose forced its way onto her cheek and a pink tongue lolled disgustingly in her ear. Darcy squealed and wiggled but Bucky held her tight against him. It wasn’t much but she thought she could hear a low chuckle in his chest as he did so, and that was almost worth Lucky’s bad breath in her nose. 

“Wow, can’t leave you guys for a weekend alone without the place going to the dogs, huh?”

All four parties paused and looked up from the floor to see Barton stood in the doorway, grinning widely. 

“Mission good?”  
“Did you bring back pizza?”  
“Woof!”  
“Why is your dog so badly behaved?”

The grin still plastered across his face, Barton knelt down and Lucky scrambled to get to him, paws sliding on the tiles in his haste to do so. He fussed the yellow lab thoroughly before answering. 

“Yeah, Bucky. All targets neutralised. No, Darce, I did not bring pizza – unfortunately undercover doesn’t let you get Dominos, they’re funny that way. What do you mean, badly behaved?”

Steve, reclining on the kitchen floor, gestured to the havoc around them. 

“Didja try giving him commands at all?”

Steve fixed the archer with a pointed look. 

“Well, like what then?”

“Sit, stay, don’t open the goddamned fridge. You know, the usual dog commands.” Steve hauled himself to a sitting position next to Bucky, who was quietly brushing Darcy’s hair. With the brush he’d been using on the dog. Steve wasn’t sure if the girl realised. He contemplated mentioning to her, then remembered the time she’d let Bucky wash the dog in Steve’s bathroom. 

“Yeah but-“ Barton trailed off. Steve waited. “I mean, you’re using ASL, right?”

“ASL?” Darcy’s head shot up. 

“Well, yeah. I’m deaf, guys. I needed something I could use even if my hearing aids failed.”


End file.
